Sidney Wolfe: public health leader who campaigned for reform across the US health system

bmj;384/jan31_17/q239/FAF1faJamie Rose, New York TimesDepending on your perspective, Sidney Wolfe was either a “gadfly” or a giant in US health advocacy for half a century.It didn’t start that way. His first degree was in chemistry, but a summer job with a chemical company resulted in almost daily burns from handling the materials and a decision to try medicine. After completing a residency and a stint with the Public Health Service in lieu of being drafted at the peak of the Vietnam war, Wolfe was conducting haematology research at the National Institutes of Health and headed for a career in academic medicine.Then, in March 1971, a colleague spoke to him about several deaths from bacterial contamination of intravenous fluid produced by Abbott Laboratories. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended simply continuing use of those products unless the patient developed an infection….
Read Original Article: Sidney Wolfe: public health leader who campaigned for reform across the US health system »